Thomas Daniels
As the CEO celebrates the NFT Market’s victory, the regulator backs off.
With the formal conclusion of the SEC’s investigation into OpenSea, the non-fungible token (NFT) market and the larger cryptocurrency sector have achieved a major win. The ruling indicates a change in regulatory oversight, as the SEC made a similar decision to discontinue its action against Coinbase.
Devin Finzer, the CEO and co-founder of OpenSea, shared the news late Friday on X (previously Twitter) and expressed confidence about the choice.
“The SEC is wrapping up its inquiry into [OpenSea].” Everyone who is developing and creating in our area benefits from this,” Finzer said. A step backward, attempting to categorize NFTs as securities would have misinterpreted the law and slowed progress. Every creator, regardless of size, ought to be free to create without needless restrictions.
When OpenSea received a Wells notification in August of last year alerting them to possible charges pertaining to the selling of unregistered securities, the investigation got underway. The business promised to fight back, and it looks like it has won.
A More Comprehensive Change in Crypto Regulation?
The most recent indication of changing regulatory views toward cryptocurrency under the Trump administration is the SEC’s retreat. The crypto business contributed millions to Trump’s 2024 campaign, according to Bloomberg, a change that could affect legislative choices.
Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, a former Goldman Sachs banker renowned for his tough regulatory approach, initiated extensive enforcement actions against prominent cryptocurrency companies such as OpenSea, Coinbase, and Ripple while he was in office.
Since 2020, the business that created XRP, Ripple, has been involved in a legal dispute with the SEC. Judge Analisa Torres found that XRP’s institutional sales violated securities regulations, even though she decided that XRP is not a security when offered on exchanges. As a result, the SEC was fined $125 million, which is significantly less than the $2 billion it had originally demanded.
Both the SEC and Ripple have appealed, but a more forgiving stance might be imminent given Trump’s appointment of pro-crypto SEC commissioner Paul Atkins to head the organization.
The SEA Token Airdrop by OpenSea
OpenSea is celebrating with a SEA token airdrop in addition to its regulatory victory. The OpenSea Foundation said Thursday that it will give away free tokens to users who have been using its Seaport protocol and NFT marketplace for a long time.
Although there are still little facts available regarding the SEA token launch, traders’ excitement is rising. In order to improve the NFT trading experience, OpenSea has also unveiled OS2, a brand-new multi-chain trading platform.
